Employment following cancer diagnosis: A narrative summary of the evidence

First paragraph: The Scottish Government in Better Cancer Care: An Action Plan identifies returning to work for people diagnosed with cancer as a major concern. It reports that the Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives (SCHWL) will bring a national perspective to initiatives designed to support people with cancer back into work. The Cancer Care Research Centre (CCRC), University of Stirling, was commissioned by SCHWL to conduct a review of literature. The objectives of this review are to: 1. Identity key literature about employment and cancer 2. Categorise the literature under key topics 3. Summarise key findings and conclusions of this literature 4. Identify gaps in research evidenc

Linkage of social care and hospital admissions data to explore non-delivery of planned home care for older people in Scotland

Purpose: As part of a pilot study assessing the feasibility of record-linking health and social care data, we examined patterns of non-delivery of home care among older clients (>65 years) of a social home care provider in Glasgow, Scotland. We also assessed whether non-delivery was associated with subsequent emergency hospital admission. Design: After obtaining appropriate permissions, the electronic records of all home care clients were linked to a hospital inpatient database and anonymised. Data on home care plans were collated for 4,815 older non-hospitalised clients, and non-delivered visits examined. Using case-control methodology, those who had an emergency hospital admission in the next calendar month were identified (n=586), along with age and sex-matched controls, to determine whether non-delivery was a risk factor for hospital admission. Findings: There were 4,170 instances of ‘No Access’ non-delivery among 1,411 people, and 960 instances of ‘Service Refusal’ non-delivery among 427 people. The median number of undelivered visits was two among the one third of clients who did not receive all their planned care. There were independent associations between being male and living alone, and non-delivery, while increasing age was associated with a decreased likelihood of non-delivery. Having any undelivered home care was associated with an increased risk of emergency hospital admission, but this could be due to uncontrolled confounding. Research Implications: This study demonstrates untapped potential for innovative research into the quality of social care and effects on health outcomes. Practical Implications: Non-delivery of planned home care, for whatever reason, is associated with emergency hospital admission; this could be a useful indicator of vulnerable clients needing increased surveillance

A Qualitative Study of Patient satisfaction in Oncology Wards Setting in Saudi Arabia

Background: The incidence of cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing. Whilst meeting the growing demand for health care services in oncology, organisations must ensure they provide high quality care. Despite patient satisfaction being an important metric in assessing quality of care, there is a dearth of literature in this field in the KSA, particularly in oncology hospital wards. The aim of this study was to examine how interpersonal aspects of care and socio-cultural communication impact upon patient satisfaction in an oncology ward setting in the Saudi Regional Cancer Centre (SRCC), in Riyadh.  Methods: A sequential, explanatory, mixed methods design was employed. This paper presents the findings of the qualitative phase of the research, when semi-structured telephone and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 22 adult oncology inpatients admitted to the SRCC in Riyadh.  Findings: Three primary themes emerged from the interview data: doctor-patient relationship, nurse-patient relationship, and contextual factors of cancer in the KSA. The findings indicated that patient satisfaction levels were significantly influenced by the interpersonal aspects of care. Doctor-patient and nurse-patient relationships were deemed core to patients’ experiences, with person-centered, interpersonal skills being especially important. In addition, sociocultural issues such as language barriers and non-disclosure negatively impacted on levels of satisfaction. Attention to such factors is necessary to improve quality of care in oncology ward settings in the Kingdom. Improvements in care arising from enhanced interpersonal skills of staff, contextualised against a backdrop of social and cultural factors, would positively influence patient satisfaction in the KSA.  Conclusion: This study has provided new evidence supporting the need for stronger interpersonal relations and a more patient-centred approach in the oncology health system in the KSA. This research will assist policy makers and hospital management teams wanting to improve patient satisfaction in oncology wards in the KSA

Heterogeneous agendas around public engagement in stem cell research:The case for maintaining plasticity

Although public engagement is now part of the business of doing science, there is considerable divergence about what the term means and what public engagement ought to be doing. This paper refl ects on these heterogeneous meanings and agendas through an analysis of focus group data from research on public engagement in stem cell research. Three broad visions of public engagement are identifi ed: as education and information provision; as dialogue; and as participation in policy making. In analysing the implications of these visions three dimensions are highlighted: weakly and strongly structured visions of public engagement; the co production of roles and relationships; and the framing of what is at stake. Each of these has the potential to include or exclude some groups in public engagement. We conclude that social scientists should seek to maintain the plasticity of public engagement as a necessary condition for greater participation and reflexivity in science policy, practice and governance

People's experiences of cancer within the first year following diagnosis. Final Report

The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of people affected by cancer in the first year following diagnosis with breast, lung, colorectal, prostate or gynaecological cancer. This was a descriptive qualitative study conducted over a period of 18 months during which three serial, longitudinal semi-structured interviews with 66 people, their nominated partner/carer1 (n=43) and healthcare professional (n=20) were conducted. The study included 18 people with colorectal cancer, 12 women with breast cancer, 9 women with gynaecological cancer, 17 people with lung cancer and 10 men with prostate cancer. The sampling strategy was not designed to derive a representative sample but to enable the researchers to understand experience of cancer and cancer care from men and women with a different cancer diagnosis and who had different socio-economic backgrounds and lived either in a rural or urban area. A conscious effort was made to include people from different ethnic minority groups but this was unsuccessful because no or very small numbers of people from these groups were diagnosed with cancer during the period of recruitment in the cancer centres where healthcare professionals were recruiting for the study

Communication to Adult Patients Undergoing Cancer Care by Non-Specialist Nurses: a Scoping Review Protocol

Introduction Little is known regarding how non-specialist nurses communicate with patients living with cancer when the patients are receiving care outside of their cancer units/teams. This scoping review aims to identify, examine and report on the currently available evidence about communication by non-specialist nurses when caring for adults living with cancer outside of their cancer care unit/teams. Methods and analysis A scoping review following the JBI methodology for scoping reviews will be conducted. We will search for empirical studies that meet the inclusion criteria in six databases (MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and PsycINFO). Handsearching in references of included articles will be performed to find additional articles. The population of interest will be non-specialist nurses. Three concepts will be explored, namely (1) all adult patients living with cancer, (2) a focus on three stages of the cancer continuum of care (cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship) and (3) a focus on communication between non-specialist nurses and patients living with cancer. We will include studies describing all healthcare settings outside patients’ specialised cancer units or oncology teams. After article selection, two reviewers will independently screen titles and abstracts and perform a full-text article review, risk of bias assessments and data extraction. A third reviewer will resolve all disagreements. A narrative summary will provide an overview of how the results relate to the research aims and questions. The included articles will be limited to English and published between 2012 and 2023. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required since we will use publicly available empirical research sources. This review will provide current research on communication by non-specialist nurses with patients with a cancer diagnosis outside of an oncology setting, evidence that will support effective communication. As such, we aim to disseminate the findings in academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals

An investigation of health and social care students' and recent graduates' clinical placement and professional practice experiences and coping strategies during the Wave 1 COVID-19 pandemic period.

During the first COVID-19 pandemic wave in 2020, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, allied health and social work professional students from Robert Gordon University (RGU) were encouraged to undertake extended, paid clinical placements, or enter professional practice earlier than planned. This unparalleled policy intervention was introduced to address concerns that the NHS would be overwhelmed by the ongoing pandemic. Other policy measures implemented at that time included closing down or scaling back routine health and social care, and rapid redeployment of health and social care staff to areas considered business critical e.g. intensive care. Therefore, students entered a health and social care system in a state of significant flux, exposing those individuals to increased risk of unintentional, psychosocial harm. This mixed methods study sought: (1) to investigate the lived experiences and coping strategies of RGU health care and social work students during the Wave 1 COVID-19 pandemic period; and (2) to explore the role and acceptability of online group technologies and other forms of support, which were helpful in building individual resilience and supporting health and wellbeing during this time

An investigation of health and social care students' and recent graduates' clinical placement and professional practice experiences and coping strategies during the Wave 1 COVID-19 pandemic period: supplementary report.

During the first COVID-19 pandemic wave in 2020, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, allied health and social work professional students from Robert Gordon University (RGU) were encouraged to undertake extended, paid clinical placements, or enter professional practice earlier than planned. This unparalleled policy intervention was introduced to address concerns that the NHS would be overwhelmed by the ongoing pandemic. Other policy measures implemented at that time included closing down or scaling back routine health and social care, and rapid redeployment of health and social care staff to areas considered business critical e.g. intensive care. Therefore, students entered a health and social care system in a state of significant flux, exposing those individuals to increased risk of unintentional, psychosocial harm. This mixed methods study sought: (1) to investigate the lived experiences and coping strategies of RGU health care and social work students during the Wave 1 COVID-19 pandemic period; and (2) to explore the role and acceptability of online group technologies and other forms of support, which were helpful in building individual resilience and supporting health and wellbeing during this time. This report contains supplementary appendices for the main report, which can be found on OpenAIR: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/176445

Understanding the training and education needs of homecare workers supporting people with dementia and cancer: a systematic review of reviews

Many people with dementia, supported by family carers, prefer to live at home and may rely on homecare support services. People with dementia are also often living with multimorbidities, including cancer. The main risk factor for both cancer and dementia is age and the number of people living with dementia and cancer likely to rise. Upskilling the social care workforce to facilitate more complex care is central to national workforce strategies and challenges. Training and education development must also respond to the key requirements of a homecare workforce experiencing financial, recruitment and retention difficulties. This systematic review of reviews provides an overview of dementia and cancer training and education accessible to the homecare workforce. Findings reveal there is a diverse range of training and education available, with mixed evidence of effectiveness. Key barriers and facilitators to effective training and education are identified in order to inform future training, education and learning development for the homecare workforce supporting people with dementia and cancer